Georgia Meloni: I am not worried about the European elections, the relationship with the allies in the government is absolutely positive

In the usual press conference for the year's report given today by Georgia Melonistressed that “I am not worried about the European elections, the relationship with the allies in the government is absolutely positive, I think we can all bring a positive result». It is noted that the press conference was postponed twice, due to health problems of the Italian Prime Minister.

She added that “he is never going to ally himself with the Left in the European Parliamentwhile, regarding the European Commission and a possible second term of the “Von der Leyen Commission”, Meloni emphasized that the logic is different, because “every government, as is known, appoints a Commissioner”.

According to APE – MEB, when asked about possible candidacy of Mario Draghi as the new president of the European Commission, the Italian Prime Minister underlined: “There are two elements. Today it is not possible to talk about names of candidates and Draghi himself has said that he is not available. I opposed Draghi, but I cooperated with him in the field of foreign policy and I am glad that he is now cooperating with the Commission. I think, however, that we must focus on the objectives of the new Commission, not on the names. The main goals I believe should be a stronger Europe in crisis areas, a more dynamic strategic agenda, a stronger defense of external borders and the fight against human trafficking, and harmonizing the environmental transition with social sensitivity.”

Concerning the immigration and refugeeMeloni underlined that “she is not satisfied with the results so far, although in the last period of last year arrivals on the coast of Lower Italy showed a decrease».

“The expectations were higher, obviously, and I'm ready to take on any responsibility. But what I'm trying to do is to manage to solve this whole thing in a structural way, long-term. Our aim remains to stop departures, assess the possibility of creating hotspots in Africa to ascertain who is entitled to asylum and to support legal immigration“, said the Italian Prime Minister.

Asked about the case concerning the New Year's party at which the MP of her party, Emanuele Pozzolo, allegedly went with a revolver and shot a bystander in the leg, Meloni stated, “Someone didn't act responsibly, I mean the person who owned the gun. For this reason I asked that Pozzolo be referred to the competent committee of my party and that it be decided his temporary hiatus from the Brothers of Italy».

The Italian Prime Minister stated willing to take part in a televised “debate” with the secretary of the center-left Democratic Party, Ellie Schlein, while referring to the refusal of the Italian Parliament to ratify the reform of the European Stability Mechanism, he underlined that “in the Italian Parliament there has never been a majority in favor of approving the Mechanism” and that “now we will an opportunity could be given to turn this tool into something more effective.”

Finally, when asked about possible cooperation with the Alternative for Germany and Marine Le Pen, Georgia Meloni stressed: “I don't want to give diplomas in politics. With the Alternative for Germany there are distances that seem unbridgeable, as in the case of Russia, while I think Le Pen has made an interesting analysis on this matter. I mainly work within the framework of the European Conservatives, but I believe, in general, that when there are parties that receive 20% and 30%, everyone should be concerned about how answers can be given to the citizens who voted for them.”